context: my presentation notes of J-term class 2024: Identity.
- In the following discussion, we will structure into three different sections.
- First, we’ll begin by defining key terms that will be central to our conversation.
- In the second section, remember from our last class, we explored various features common to all identities. It’s interesting to note that how gender identity also fits these features.
- In our third and final section, we’ll delve into three important psychological truths about identity.
- Definition of sex, gender, habitus, essentialism
- We need to understand the definitions of ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ in our context. ‘Sex’ refers to the biological attributes of an individual, while ‘gender’ denotes the societal roles, behaviors, and expectations associated with being male, female, or other gender identities.
- it’s also crucial for us to grasp the concepts of ‘habitus’ and ‘essentialism’ to set a ground for our understanding of psychological truths about identity.
- ‘Habitus’ suggests the ingrained habits and tendencies that shape how an individual perceives and interacts with the world.
- Essentialism is the view that certain categories have an underlying reality or true nature that one cannot observe directly, but that gives an object its identity, and is responsible for other similarities that category members share.
sex: The biological attributes of an individual, including their sexual morphology and reproductive anatomy, which are typically categorized as male or female.
gender: The set of societal norms, roles, behaviors, and attributes that a society considers appropriate for men and women, as well as other gender identities, extending beyond mere biological differences.
habitus: A set of ingrained habits and tendencies influencing how an individual instinctively perceives and reacts to the world, often expressed through physical demeanor like posture, speech, and movement, which in turn shapes their thoughts and feelings.
essentialism: The belief that certain categories, such as objects or entities, possess an intrinsic nature or essence that, while not directly observable, defines their identity and contributes to the shared characteristics among members of that category.
- All Identities have several key features.
- Firstly, they are accompanied by labels and ideas about their applicability and relevance.
- Secondly, they affect your perceptions about appropriate behavior.
- Thirdly, they affect how others treat you.
- And finally, all these aspects of identity are open to debate and challenge, including questions about who belongs, their characteristics, how they should act, and how they should be treated.
As we will see, gender identity also share these characteristic,
for example
The features of identities:
i) gender identity come with labels and ideas about why and to whom it should be applied
When we speak of men and women, or of other genders, we’re not talking just about bodies. In calling a child a girl or a boy – in applying that label – every society is assuming more than that the child has a certain sexual morphology. And so we distinguish now between sex (the biological situation) and gender (the whole set of ideas about what women and men will be like and about how they should behave).
Identities involve labels and stereotypes. That is obvious in the case of gender.
💬 Is it possible for a society to move beyond gender labels without losing the essence of individual identity?
ii) They shape your thoughts about how you should behave
You learn how to dress as a man or as a woman in ways that are shaped by the clothes you are given as a child, which themselves are selected because of your gender…. when I walk, I don’t consciously reflect that I’m not walking like a woman.
💡 Have you ever felt restricted by the behavioral expectations tied to your gender identity?
- so the second feature is that Gender identity influences your behavior and attire norms. The clothes you receive as a child, chosen based on your gender, guide how you dress as an adult. This influence is so ingrained that actions, like walking, are performed without conscious thought about gender-specific manners. Anyone wants to talk about that Have you ever felt restricted by the behavioral expectations tied to your gender identity?
- And gender identity also affects how other people would treat you.
iii) They affect the ways other people treat you
Labels, stereotypes, and ideas about how you should behave: these, I said, are there in every identity. And gender has the last of the traits I mentioned, too: it involves ideas not just about how you should behave, but also about how others should behave toward you.
- In what ways do gender norms challenge or reinforce the concept of individual autonomy? Gender norms, the societal expectations about how individuals should behave based on their perceived gender, can both challenge and reinforce the concept of individual autonomy. Challenge to Autonomy: Consider a woman who excels in a STEM field but faces societal pressure to pursue a career deemed more ‘appropriate’ for her gender, such as nursing or teaching. Despite her personal desires and abilities, societal gender norms can limit her freedom to choose, undermining her autonomy. This scenario reflects how gender norms can constrain personal choices and self-determination, forcing individuals into paths aligned with societal expectations rather than their own aspirations. Reinforcement of Autonomy: On the flip side, when gender norms are defied, it can be an act of asserting individual autonomy. Take the example of a man who chooses to be a stay-at-home dad, embracing caregiving roles traditionally associated with women. By doing so, he exercises personal autonomy, making a choice that aligns with his values and desires, despite societal expectations. This act of defiance against gender norms can be empowering, reinforcing the individual’s right to self-governance and personal decision-making. In essence, while gender norms often impose restrictive frameworks that challenge individual autonomy, the act of challenging these norms itself can be a powerful affirmation of personal freedom and self-determination.
- society has these set ideas about what men and women should be like and how they should act.
- For example, Women are often expected to be caring and understanding, while men are seen as tough and decisive. This kind of thinking can lead to people treating each other differently, sometimes forcing them into these stereotypical boxes, even if it doesn’t fit who they really are.
- Also Gender identity has been a big factor in who gets what opportunities, from jobs to education. Some jobs have been seen as ‘men’s work’ or ‘women’s work’, and this led to unfair hiring practices. Even now, you’ll find people facing hurdles in fields that are dominated by the opposite gender.
- Maybe we should take some time to think about in what ways do gender norms challenge or reinforce the concept of individual autonomy.
iv) All these dimensions of identity are contestable, always up for dispute: who’s in, what they’re like, how they should behave and be treated
An identity cannot simply be imposed upon me, willy nilly, but neither is an identity simply up to me, a contrivance that I can shape however I please.
Having an identity doesn’t, by itself, authorize you to speak on behalf of everyone of that identity…while your identity affects your experience, there’s no guarantee that what you’ve learned from it is going to be the same as what other people of the same identity have learned.
The shape of one identity can also be contoured by your other identities… Kimberle Crenshaw introduced the idea of intersectionality: Our many identities interact to produce effects that are not simply the sum of each of them.
💡 How has your personal identity been both a choice and a result of societal imposition?
💡 In what ways has intersectionality affected your understanding of your own identity?
- Finally,
- All aspects of identity, such as belonging, characteristics, behavior, and treatment, are subject to discussion and scrutiny.
- An identity is neither arbitrarily assigned nor entirely under personal control; it cannot be freely shaped at will.
- Simply having an identity does not empower one to represent all others sharing that identity, as individual experiences within it can vary greatly.
- Additionally, we need to take the concept of intersectionality into considerations, and see how various identities interplay to create complex effects that transcend their individual contributions.
- Based on my experiences these past few days, I’ve really started to see the importance of intersectionality.
- Like, I’ve noticed that, even though I’m a woman, my experiences can be very different from many Emirati women. For example, nobody cares about my first name.
- And no one sarcastically says to me, “Oh, as an Emirati, you’re so privileged, you do everything so slowly.” But people might tease me, saying, “You work so hard!” when I’m just putting in a normal amount of effort.
- Nobody tells me that engineering or computer science isn’t for me. Instead, because of the stereotype about East Asians, people often assume, “Let me guess, you major in computer science and you’re good at math.” Sometimes, I really want to say, “You know what? Guess you’re wrong, I’m majoring in literature and philosophy. Didn’t see that coming, right?” But in reality, I just end up saying, “Yes, I’m majoring in math and computer science, and yes, I’m good at math. Good guess.”
- Of course, I want to say that I genuinely love computer science. I love creating my own things with code. My initial interest in programming came from trying to make game mods. But when I talk about what I like, sometimes I worry about reinforcing stereotypes.
- Because if you went to university in East Asian, let’s say Japan, you will see that, most of students are not stem major, and of course not all of the students are good at math. They also loves literature, anthropology, philosophy, those humanity subjects a lot. I think one of the reason why East Asian international students choose stem major or econ, is that it is much harder for students native in language such as Japanese and Chinese, Koreans to use English to study literature or philosophy or any subjects require intense reading and writings or speaking of a language they are not that familiar with.
Now, we are going to talk about the third section, three important psychological truth about our perception of identities.
Three important psychological truth
- The first point is that,
- Identity is very central to the way we deploy our bodies, even we didn’t notice.
- As we have defined before, habitus is a set of dispositions to respond more or less spontaneously to the world in particular ways, without much thought
- The connection between habitus and identity lies in our recognition of specific behaviors – such as accents, walking styles, and dress codes – as indicators of certain identities.
- our identities subconsciously influence our habitus.
i) The first is about how central identity is to the way we deploy our bodies
… Habitus and identity are connected by the fact that we recognize certain forms of behavior – accent, but also ways of walking, styles of dress – as the signs of certain forms of identity and that our identities shape our habitus unconsciously.
💡 Can you think of a way in which your identity has unconsciously shaped a part of your habitus, like your accent, manner of walking, or style of dress?
- How do societal perceptions of certain identities influence the development of an individual’s habitus?
- if society perceives a particular gender identity as being inherently nurturing, individuals with that identity may develop a habitus that emphasizes caregiving behaviors, regardless of their personal inclinations. Similarly, societal views on professional identities can shape an individual’s work ethic, communication style, and professional demeanor.
- This influence often occurs subconsciously, with individuals internalizing societal norms from a young age. As a result, the habitus developed is a reflection not only of personal choices and experiences but also of the broader societal expectations and stereotypes associated with their identities.
ii) Humans are innately inclined to categorize and generalize others, often believing that these categories reflect inherent differences.
Research with young children suggests that one of our most basic strategies for making sense of the world is to form the sorts of generalizations that linguists call “generics” – generalizations like “Tigers eat people,” and “Women are gentle.”
It’s worth insisting from the start that essentialism about identities is usually wrong: in general, there isn’t some inner essence that explains why people of a certain social identity are the way they are.
💬 In what ways does recognizing the flaws of essentialism about identities contribute to our understanding of the self and the other?
- The second important psychological truth is that
- Humans naturally tend to put others into categories and make generalizations, often assuming these categories denote fundamental differences.
- And usually this process of categorization and generalizations are wrong.
- These generalization often tends to be negative and often stereotypical, for example, tiger eats people, Muslims attack people.
- Studies involving young children show that creating broad generalizations, or “generics,” is a fundamental way we understand the world.
- it’s important to acknowledge from the outset that essentialism, the belief that people have an inherent essence that defines their social identity, is often incorrect.
- Understanding the errors in essentialist thinking about identities helps us better comprehend both ourselves and others.
iii) Humans inherently place significant importance on distinguishing between insiders who share our identities and outsiders who do not.
we human ascribe a great deal of significance to the distinction between those who share our identities and those who don’t, the insiders and the outsiders, and that we do this with identities new (like Rattlers or Eagles) and long-established, large and small, superficial and profound.
💬 What are the potential dangers of believing that these categories reflect inherent differences?
💬 How can we consciously challenge our own tendencies to categorize and generalize people?
💬 Is it possible to entirely avoid categorizing people, and should we strive to do so?
- The last important psychological truth is that
- Humans naturally value the differentiation between those who share our identities (insiders) and those who don’t (outsiders)., you know, like deciding who’s an insider and who’s an outsider.
- We do this a lot, with all sorts of groups, new ones, old ones, big or small, even over little things.
- But here’s the thing: often, there aren’t as many differences between us as we think.
- We tend to exaggerate these differences between two different groups, sometimes even making them up when they’re not really there.
- Let’s think about the potential risks about it, so the first question I want to discuss and explore here, is:
- What dangers might arise from believing that these categories we create reflect actual, inherent differences?
- How can we actively challenge our own habits of categorizing and generalizing people?
- And finally, let’s ponder the feasibility and desirability of the change: Is it possible to entirely stop categorizing people altogether, and should we strive for that?
- Feminist theories reveal the complexity of gender, moving beyond the traditional male/female binary.
- The text discusses how feminist theories have expanded our understanding of gender, emphasizing the complexity and diversity beyond the traditional binary view.
- While most human bodies can be classified as biologically male or female based on reproductive organs and secondary sexual characteristics, there are many variations. These variations include differences in sex chromosomes, hormonal responses, and physical attributes, leading to a wide spectrum of gender identities. Conditions like androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) illustrate how someone with XY chromosomes can have female characteristics, and other genetic or hormonal factors can lead to a mismatch between chromosomal sex and external appearance.
- Question: To what degree is our understanding of gender a social construct? Many sociologists and philosophers have explored the question of gender as a social construct. Sociologists generally view gender as a social category, learned behavior, and a culturally produced identity, separate from biological sex and shaped by social and cultural factors. This perspective considers gender as “socially constructed,” implying that it is a product of society rather than biology. In the realm of philosophy, particularly feminist philosophy, the notion of gender as a social construct is also prominent. Philosopher Sally Haslanger, for instance, has argued that genders and gendered traits, such as being nurturing or ambitious, are the “intended or unintended product[s] of a social practice.” This view suggests that gender identities and traits are largely the result of social practices and constructions, though there is considerable debate among feminists about which social practices construct gender, what social construction entails, and the implications of being a certain gender. However, it’s important to note that there is no consensus on these issues within the philosophical community. The debates continue on the extent to which gender is a social construct, the nature of gender construction, and its implications for gender identity and expression.
- Biological gender is usually identifiable by reproductive organs and chromosomes, but there are many exceptions and variations. While all these variations are rare, they do mean that even at the level of physical morphology, there just isn’t sharp division of human beings into two sexes.
- Conditions like AIS show how XY chromosomes can lead to female characteristics, highlighting the spectrum of gender identities. In many places, surgeons have often tried to “tidy up” the genitalia of babies born with nonstandard sexual bodies, soon after birth. So they’ve sought to bring everybody into a binary system, in which everyone is more or less clearly male or female.
